# Going to do about 20 Reviews- Bear with me!



## KickinItInSD (Aug 4, 2010)

A member and I did a small (Large on his end, THANKS!) trade, and I would like to do reviews on 
each and every one. I asked for chocolate and vanilla aro's, and then some of the non aro's that he enjoys. 
I'm pretty sure he exhausted his cellar for this one, so bear with me! This is both a way to extend my thanks, 
and to help the community a bit! Here's a list of the Tobacco I will be reviewing (2 a day):

Kendal Cream Flake
*Altadis Vanilla Custard*
Ennerdale Flake
S.G. Sam's Flake
Bob's Chocolate Flake
Berry Nice
Classic Burley Kake
FVF
Frog Morton- Across the Pond
MacBaren Honey and Chocolate
J. Middleton Sugar Barrel
Tambolaka
Altadis Chocolate Mousse
Altadis Frosty Mint
Stanwell Melange
Grousemoor Plug

I'll 'Bold' the ones I have reviewed as I complete them. :target:


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## KickinItInSD (Aug 4, 2010)

*Altadis Vanilla Custard*

*Altadis Vanilla Custard* with a Cob

Out of the bag, it smells great. Not a very harsh/fake smelling vanilla, but almost like cake, or candy. It lit up extremely fast, 
and I didn't have to re-light once (this was also in high winds on my porch, so i consider it an accomplishment). The smoke was
nice and thick, but I didn't think it smoked much like it smelled, but was still good. It seems to lose the butteryness of the vanilla, 
and I can taste more of the tobacco (cavendish I think?)

Suprisingly, there was very little moisture, which I really liked. Not having to play with the pipe cleaners is awesome!

The only thing I didn't like about this blend, is it had a slight artificial taste in my mouth. Once I started blowing it through 
my nose I got much better flavors, but maybe due to the casing...it was a bit off sometimes.

Next will be the *Grousemoor Plug*, and I've gotta say, as I was cutting it up...I wanted to eat it. Seriously, the smell of this
was heavenly. I'm leaving it out for the next hour or so to dry up a bit.


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## KickinItInSD (Aug 4, 2010)

*Grousemoor Plug* with Briar

Let me start off by saying that this smelled amazing out of the bag, but I had some difficulties actually cutting up the plug 
and drying it enough to smoke. I don't think it was the plug so much as me having no idea how to do it, and kind of learning 
on the way. When I exposed every layer of the plug, there was a nice layer of sugar that made it look even tastier.

After cutting up the plug and letting it dry, I filled the bowl of my Briar, and lit it up. It took a WHILE to actually light up, 
and maybe that was due to the size of the flakes, or maybe because of the wetness of the tobacco. When it did however, 
I was awed by the familiarity of the smoke. It tasted exactly like the smell, just not as sweet. This is the first time that 
I've actually had this happen, usually the smell is SO good, but the taste isn't as strong or even the same.

I have to say this is a very unique smoke, and I can't really describe it compared to any other I have tasted. Maybe
floral would be the best word for it?


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## CaptainEnormous (Sep 30, 2010)

KickinItInSD said:


> A member and I did a small (Large on his end, THANKS!) trade, and I would like to do reviews on
> each and every one.


Great idea! Keep up the posts.


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## KickinItInSD (Aug 4, 2010)

*S.G. Sam's Flake* with Briar

Smelled pretty good out of the bag, dried it out a bit before I lit it up (it seemed pretty wet). The first thing I noticed was the 
feeling it left in the back of my throat, it's the same one that cigars give me, making me want to take a drink. I never could figure 
out what that was, but I got the same feeling with this blend.

I didn't really find anything else in the flavor, it seemed to smoke pretty harsh for my taste, but I'm going to let it dry out some more, 
and try again in a few days.


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## neonblackjack (Oct 27, 2010)

I'm enjoying these quite a bit. Keep it up!
Very interesting that the Grousemoor Plug tastes almost the same as it smells. That has been my one disappointment of pipe smoking - it is really hard to find tobaccos that are consistent between their (often amazing) scent and the way they taste. Well, especially because I've only explored a few cheap aromatics so far, and this sort of incontinuity seems to be their advertising. Smells great, tastes like air!


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## nate560 (Nov 13, 2008)

I like Sams flake and smoke it often. When I smoke it I dry it till its almost crisp and find its much better give it a try that way. Enjoyable reading keep it up


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

nate560 said:


> I like Sams flake and smoke it often. When I smoke it I dry it till its almost crisp and find its much better give it a try that way. Enjoyable reading keep it up


+1 on Nate's crispy. When you bend a flake in half and it begins to fracture then you might try another bowl after rubbing it out well. I think it opens up with lovely flavor in the pipe.

Get effort, marathon reviewing. Bring it on. :clap2:


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## KickinItInSD (Aug 4, 2010)

Sorry guys, I was getting annoyed at not being to edit the original post, so I stopped reviewing, but I definitely did not stop smoking.

I'll be adding some daily now. :biggrin1:


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## KickinItInSD (Aug 4, 2010)

*Kendal Cream Flake* with Cob

Ok, the first thing that came to mind before I started smoking this, or even opened the bag, were those old tyme cream sodas you find every once in awhile. They're nice and creamy, with a real smoooooth finish.

Surprisingly, I did get a lot of that flavor profile in this blend. ESPECIALLY the smoothness. The aroma out of the bag is fantastic, and had none of the artificial flavor scent akin to many of the aromatics out there. In truth, I wish, some of the vanilla blends could pick up a few of the traits expressed by this flake. The smooth texture and taste remind me of vanilla more then any of the more 'vanilla' aro's. Maybe this is because it seems like all vanilla products have that finish... (Ice cream, creme brulee,etc..) Just my 2c.

The flakes themselves seemed to be very moist, and thick. This was kind of an issue, so I took a bit of time rubbing
them out, and drying for awhile (3 hours out in the open). They were still a clumped at that point, but I said 'What the hell...'.

I tried the blend again a couple of days later, dried it out even more, and it was (whatdoyouknow) even better! I think I'm noticing a very definitive trend... haha.

One big point...I got NO bite while smoking with this flake, maybe because I'm getting the process down (realistically...probably not)


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

KickinItInSD said:


> Sorry guys, I was getting annoyed at not being to edit the original post, so I stopped reviewing...


Inspirational words of encouragement.

"Now a promise made is a debt unpaid, and the trail has its own stern code.
In the days to come, though my lips were dumb, in my heart how I cursed that load."
-r service

"You promised a marathon review. Don't breaka-breaka-breaka my heart. Definitely try that flake a little more dry and rubbed out."
-m moo

"Don't look back! Something might be gaining on you!"
-s paige


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## commonsenseman (Apr 18, 2008)

Glad you liked KCF! 

Interestingly, that's one of the few SG blends that I didn't like. 

Also, I think Moo was trying to say "keep up the good work" :thumb:


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## Mister Moo (Sep 8, 2005)

commonsenseman said:


> "keep up the good work" :thumb:


Not enough words there, C'man. eace:


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## KickinItInSD (Aug 4, 2010)

*Classic Burley Kake* with Briar

I smoked this blend twice, once last night, and once about a week ago. I didn't really enjoy it very much a week ago, but after smoking about 15 other's in the past week, I gained a bit of experience and thee blends gave me something to compare it to.

I feel like this Burley is a "Back to the Basics" type of blend, that helps to remind us of what burley really tastes like. I think it has some red virginia and rum in it too. I couldn't really taste the rum, but the Burley was perfect.

I'm still really a Vaper fan, because Burley really isn't the flavor profile that I am into right now. However, I can really respect the well made blend, and for those that like a good Burley, I think this would be a perfect thing to try!

It came to me pretty dry already, so I didn't have any issues lighting it. Also, it burned all the way down to the bottom of the bowl. From what I've heard, Burley is a good way to get the carbon build-up inside your pipe, so this just seems like a perfect combo for a newbie pipe smoker trying to understand the different flavors of the tobacco's.

If anyone has a good Latakia blend I could review, I think at some point I want to make a Newbie guide on flavor profiles.....

But maybe I should just finish this huge endeavor first :hmm:


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## neonblackjack (Oct 27, 2010)

KickinItInSD said:


> But maybe I should just finish this huge endeavor first :hmm:


Yes, finish! I'm really enjoying these. As a new smoker, I like the way that you review the baccys from a likewise newbie perspective. It really helps, so keep it up! :banana:


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## KickinItInSD (Aug 4, 2010)

*Ennerdale Flake* with Cob

Ok I want to say right off the bat, that there were two blends in the trade that I got, which pretty much smelled up the whole bag (not bad per se, but very...pungent). Grousemoore plug was the other. I made sure to place these two in their separate baggies, because I heard that it might really effect the flavors of the other, less strong, blends.

I'm pretty sure I can say that this flake is a Love or Hate kind of blend. It has a very heavy casing, and leaves a big bite if even smoked at a medium-pace. (I haven't figured out how to sip, and also keep enough smoke in my mouth to make it worth it). Maybe once I learn that, I can appreciate the more heavily cased blends.

Now for the flavor: It is scented in a very perfume-like fashion; I think some would call it a soapy taste, but I would say it's more _floral_. After you get through the first few pulls, I think the sweet, vanilla, nutty, fruity taste comes out a little bit more. I don't really know how to detail this blend any more. I saw a quote on Tobacco reviews saying, "One man's meat is another man's poison" and I think this really sums up the blend.

On a side note, I am really starting to be able to tell the difference between good and bad quality tobacco. This seems very good quality, and didn't leave any dottle on the bottom.

Oh and for those Newbies reading, if you have any questions about the terms I use, just ask. It took me awhile to learn them from context.


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## KickinItInSD (Aug 4, 2010)

*Bob's Chocolate Flake* with Cob

Out of the bag, I didn't think this blend smelled very chocolatey at all. More like pretty strong tobacco, with a kind of muddled, floral flavor. It was pretty wet to start out with, so I spent a few hours drying it up. (I had tried this once before out of the bag, and I didn't get through a third of the bowl before it wouldn't even light anymore) From reading a bit about Bob's blend, this soapy, perfumy flavor you get right off the bat is the "Lakeland" norm. Maybe someone with a bit more experience with this flavor profile can explain it to me. It also has a bit of Latakia in it, so the smokiness presents itself in the background. I didn't get any bite at all, it burned very well. I cut it up in pretty small slivers, and let it air dry, so it was very easy to pack.

I don't know where I stand on this blend right ow. It was decent, but probably not something that I would buy a tin of in the near future. I know there are a few of you on the forums that really enjoy it, so maybe I'll buy one and let it age for a while before dipping in.

I'll be on multiple vacations for the holidays with my girlfriend, so I doubt I'll be able to smoke very much, if any at all. I hope you all enjoyed the first few reviews!


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## commonsenseman (Apr 18, 2008)

Good reviews Matt!

Been a long time since I've had BCF, but I remember not liking it as much as SG's Chocolate Flake.


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## KickinItInSD (Aug 4, 2010)

Is there a reason I can't edit my posts in this forum? It's really irritating...

EDIT: It looks like I can do it within the first couple hours, but after that...


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## KickinItInSD (Aug 4, 2010)

Ok, Ok, I'm back from Minnesota/Wisconsin, and what a cold Thanksgiving that was. By the way, has anyone ever heard of 
"riced potatoes"? Most definitely not a fan of this faux rice. 

I'm going to try to do a few more reviews before I leave for winter break, so let me know if there are any you are really 
interested in, and I will make them a priority.


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## commonsenseman (Apr 18, 2008)

KickinItInSD said:


> Ok, Ok, I'm back from Minnesota/Wisconsin, and what a cold Thanksgiving that was. By the way, has anyone ever heard of
> "riced potatoes"? Most definitely not a fan of this faux rice.
> 
> I'm going to try to do a few more reviews before I leave for winter break, so let me know if there are any you are really
> interested in, and I will make them a priority.


As a MN resident (unfortunately), I've never heard of that. Sounds kinda weird to me too.

I'm always interested in more reviews, don't feel like you have to though.


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